Wednesday, April 9, 2008

One of my favorite obsessions is real estate. Sounds stupid, right? Really dorky. But from the time I was a kid I loved going to open houses or to view model homes for no real reason. Maybe partly to see how the “other half” lives, to pick “your room” and decide how you would decorate it, to be escapist and imagine a new life for yourself in a new place, new surroundings.

The internet has really fed this obsession. Virtual tours, endless interior and exterior photographs, a peek inside that mansion for sale over on East Avenue. Heavenly.

When we were getting ready to move to Rochester I was on RochesterCityLiving.com every day, multiple times a day. Even though we knew we weren’t going to buy a house right away I had to check out what was available, what might be possible. Now that we have been here for a little while and are actually thinking about buying a house it’s gotten even worse. First thing when I get to work I check the listings, again after lunch, again before I go home, again when I get home. It might be a little unhealthy.

We have gone to see a few houses at this point and I am definitely seeing how my job as a preservation planner, specifically one who works to promote a healthy housing stock and strong neighborhoods, is going to work against me in this process. First, we look mostly at fixer-uppers. Not totally for flipping purposes, we would be living there for a period of time as we work, slowly, on the fixer-upping. It’s more of an inclination to find a house that needs to be loved and to love it. To love its crumbling plaster into repair, to love its wood windows into renewed energy efficiency, to love the porch and yard into a welcoming array of plants and cozy furniture. Unfortunately this desire to love up a house is happening with each and every one that we look at.

Second, most of the fixer-upper houses we have looked at have been converted to multi family. They clearly have not been loved in years, instead being used up by the tenants and turned over from lazy landlord to lazier landlord until the house is almost beyond saving. Will these landlords who are looking at the property right now give it the love that it needs? Will they return it to a beautiful asset to the neighborhood or will they allow it to deteriorate a little further? Are they thinking about their obligation to house, to the tenants and to the neighborhood? Or are they only interested in the size of the checks they will be cashing one the first of the month? Nobody can love that house like I can and if I don’t do it who will?

So begins my little delusion of buying up all of them, fixing them, loving them and turning them back into an asset for a challenged neighborhood. Opening up that enclosed porch and painting the house an inviting color. Repairing the fireplaces that still has most of the original tiles. Shining up the old hardwood floors with the stunning inlays that you just won’t find in any suburb or subdivision.

On Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m., I'll be giving a presentation for Historic Pittsford titled "Landmarks of the Future: Preserving Resources of the Recent Past." The talk, which is free and open to to the public, will be at Christ Episcopal Church, at 36 S. Main Street.

I'm looking forward to talking about mid-century modern architecture in my hometown, which is not exactly a hotbed of modernist design. There are a few interesting modern buildings here and there, but Pittsford was decidedly hostile to the streamlined look of modern buildings in the mid-20th century. I found an interesting newspaper article from 1961 describing the so-called "Pittsford Revival Movement," in which old buildings on Main Street in the village were torn down to make way for "handsome brick structures of Early American design;" this project was described as "the most ambitious progress to date in the effort to restore and extend the oldtime feeling of the central village."

I'm going to be giving the audience a very, very brief and superficial overview of mid-20th century architecture, with the hope of helping them appreciate some of the features they see in buildings of that vintage, followed by an examination of some interesting preservation controversies from around the country and closer to home.

If you're a fan of 20th-century architecture, I'd love to see you there!

Monday, April 7, 2008

It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon. So what were thousands of people doing inside Eastview Mall on such a glorious day? We like to think they came to see Anna Worden, lead teacher of our Pioneer Days Summer Camp. Well – maybe not all of the thousands came inside with that purpose in mind. But the Summer Camp Fair, sponsored by Genesee Valley Parent Magazine, was a great attraction that day. Ms. Worden met many past and future campers, eager to plan their stay at our history and craft day camp. It’s a week filled with early 19th century activities for kids currently in 3rd through 6th grade – and five weeks to choose from. There’s an “early bird” discount for those who register by May 1st, so check out the details on our website.

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While the writers of the Confessions of a Preservationist blog are on staff at The Landmark Society or affiliated organizations, or volunteers with The Landmark Society, their posts are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Landmark Society of Western New York.